Moving and lifting

Tinman

these things is getting harder and harder the more I creep into middle age (55).

Tinman

I need more young bucks.

Tinman

We've got 21 of these boat anchors to get out of the building.

BobC

Are there any stairs? Radiator luging down a flight of stairs is a very exciting sport.

Bob

Tinman

Yes there is. My intent is to let them slide down on 2 X 12's, held back by rope, and have a soft landing on plywood. The stairs are solid concrete, 6' wide.

JUGHNE

Fan belts......the size that go from the floor about to your waist. Usually from riding lawn mowers. Tip to get one under each leg or loop under and back thru the belt. Good with 4 people. Saves the back. Have moved 1000 gal milk bulk tanks, commercial ranges etc. this way.

Someone probably wants those rads, I would take them if you deliver

Abracadabra

Work smarter.. not harder

JUGHNE

I did the 2 flights of stairs with one helper, after realizing the helper couldn't hold them from taking off, I put a 4 X4 across the back side of a doorway and used a block & tackle for better control to ease them down the steps. Saved us and the house walls.

Tinman

All 21 are sold. They're coming out because of what some other contractor did 5 years ago. See Pic.

Abracadabra

that stuff sitting outside that building looks like a few hundred in scrap

what a shame...

KC_Jones

I seriously would have shot that contractor for putting that hideous mess on the outside of my building, even if he did it for free. Such a shame. Is that an accepted practice to slap a bunch of garbage on the outside of a building like that?

Tinman

Here's what I know. The guy (contractor) didn't have a clue and this church is in a crime ridden area on the west side of Chicago. He sold them down the river and they regret going along with his suggestions. But they don't have the money to unring that bell. The hot water boiler job we just completed on the other side of the church was expensive enough.

And to top it off, this guy convinced them to remove a huge, 85 year old, stain glass window so he could run his duct through. And the ductwork craftsmanship is horses$&t.

Paul48

You probably already know this , but, don't use braided nylon rope. You'll never break it, but it's a little unsettling when the radiator decides to go , and the rope stretches 4 ft at 60 mph.

Ask me how I know...lol

Tinman

Yeah we don't want that happening. No heroes and no property damage and I'm happy.

JUGHNE

Key words: nylon rope & church. I have to tell this story sometime: Church handyman (volunteer) is going to replace the hand on the church clock. (80? feet in the air). The top of the steeple has a roof door. He loops his rope around the cross on the top. He had carefully placed knots in the rope for his climbing. He goes down probably 20' to the clock, changes the hand and is ready to come back up. Suddenly the knots are too far apart as he tries to climb back up. I believe as he told the story later there was a lot of prayer involved but he made it back to the roof door and had nothing good to say about nylon rope after that day.

This guy must have been in his late 60's at the time. I have since inherited his job of boiler checking and church maintenance. Just climbing the ladder to the roof hatch kicks my ****.

To give him the just honor he deserves, he was a Pearl Harbor survivor, rang the church bells twice a day for maybe 50 years and died of a heart attack on the steps of the church on his way to check the building.

Paul48

Take your time...think the rigging through, and don't be afraid to stop, and re-think it. Maybe you can slide them down that garbage chute.

Ironman

Stephen Minnich said:

these things is getting harder and harder the more I creep into middle age (55).

Middle age??
What you talkin 'bout, boy?

Mark Eatherton

Having moved my share of these beauties, I found that the best, safest, fastest way was to use a power dollie. Use the trombone style and not the knuckles on a belt climbing type. If you have a mid landing, place a round piece of carpet upside down on the mid landing, and when you hit that point, stand the dollie upright with the load then spinning the dollie and its load 90 degrees is a snap. Then safely proceed down the steps. It's slow, but steady and controllable, all key elements to survival.

And don't forget to include the cost of protection paper/plastic and tape needed to afix. Makes clean up a lot easier too. There will be spillage and swillage of the plumbers gold (black, rusty water) type.

I have used a device called a piano skid board. It's better than 2 x 4's and plywood but it too can get away from you and as Bob said, turn into a cast iron luge, or bob sled. YEE Haw...

The EASIEST one I did, we used a crane to lift a boiler into the 2nd story window. Pulling it into the room on the cable makes your sphincter do the momba, but done right, it works slick as a whistle. Good rigging knowledge is essential, and if a professional rigger has to rope, they usually use cissel rope. Very little stretch or give to it.

To the youngster reading this, take care of your back and body so it can take care of you when you get older. It pays to use ear, eye and face protection. Stuff happens in a hurry in real time.

ME

BobC

A few decades ago I was helping a buddy get his wood sailboat out of the bay for winter, do you know how much a 18 ft wood Hustler weighs after sitting on a mooring all summer long?.

There were four of us trying to guide the boat on the trailer and one up front cranking the winch on the trailer, we were making slow steady progress when we heard a snap. The screws holding the fitting to the bow failed and the rope (5/8") snapped forward with the bronze fitting attached to it. My buddies brother took it in the mouth, it took out two teeth.

His dad drove him to the hospital while we finished loading the boat. We should have tied a towel to that rope to slow it down some - live and learn.

Bob

ChrisJ

Stephen Minnich said:

We've got 21 of these boat anchors to get out of the building.

You seriously view cast iron radiators as "boat anchors" ?!?
Maybe I had the completely wrong opinion of you.

Tinman

Only when I have to move and lift them.

Mark Eatherton

My neighbor in the mountains has a big ski boat. He and his new soon to be girl friend were towing another buddy on a wake board, and usually they use a stiff rope with zero give to it for that purpose, instead of the more flexible nylon rope used for slaloming and other regular water skiing. She was facing backwards so she could keep an eye on the skier and let the driver know if the skier fell. His buddy fell, she yelled STOP, and the skier held on to the rope for just a second too long, and when he let lose, it bungied up into the boat, hitting my friends new (now former) girl friend right in the mouth and took all of her front teeth out... My neighbor looked over at her just as her eyes got big as pies, and the rope smacked her. Took her to the hospital and that was the end of that love story.

Moral of the story, use the right rope for the job, or pay the consequences. Rumor has it that she was undergoing reconstructive surgery and would be fine, eventually.

Work and play safe out there....

ME